1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to materials processing involving a chemical and/or a physical action(s) or reaction(s) of a component or between components. More specifically, the present invention produces a gas-in-liquid emulsion in a reactor to continuously process relatively large quantities of materials.
2. General Background and State of the Art
Apparatus for materials processing consisting of coaxial cylinders that are rotated relative to one another about a common axis, the materials to be processed being fed into the annular space between the cylinders, are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,999, issued Dec. 6, 1994 to Colorado State University Research Foundation discloses processes for the high shear processing of a fibrous biomass by injecting a slurry thereof into a turbulent Couette flow created in a xe2x80x9chigh-frequency rotor-stator devicexe2x80x9d, this device having an annular chamber containing a fixed stator equipped with a coaxial toothed ring cooperating with an opposed coaxial toothed ring coupled to the rotor. U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,891, issued Aug. 23, 1994 to Nippon Paint Co., Ltd. discloses processes for continuous emulsion polymerization in which a solution containing the polymerizable material is fed to the annular space between coaxial relatively rotatable cylinders.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,463, issued Jan. 18, 1994, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,191, issued Jul. 23, 1996, both having the same applicant as the present invention, disclose methods and apparatus for high-shear material treatment, one type of the apparatus consisting of a rotor rotating within a stator to provide an annular flow passage. U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,191, in particular, at column 13, line 37, describes using the invention as a gas/liquid chemical reactor by enveloping the greater part of the liquid that clings to the periphery of the spinning rotor with a body of the reactant gas. The high peripheral velocity of the wetted, spinning rotor causes the gas to be in a highly turbulent state of surface renewal at its contact interface with the liquid film. However, this gas/liquid reaction method provides a relatively small gas/liquid contact area and is prone to considerable back-mixing (mixing in the longitudinal, axial or general flow direction) of the gas component thus providing an undesirably large residence time distribution (RTD), impairing the overall efficiency of the process.
Sparging gasses through liquids for reacting the gasses with the liquids is also known in the prior art, but also fails to provide adequate interfacial contact area between the liquid and gas.
It would be desirable to provide a large interfacial contact area between a liquid and a gas in an efficient continuous or batch type process.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for producing a gas-in-liquid emulsion for providing increased interfacial contact area between the liquid and the gas for improved reaction of the gas with the liquid, or more rapid solution or reaction of a difficulty soluble or immiscible gas in or with a liquid. This invention provides a superior, more economical and more efficient way of contacting gases with liquids for the purpose of effecting reactions between them to be carried out as a continuous or batch type process.